Today is a national day of mourning in honor of the passing
of George HW Bush, the 41st President who served from 1989-1993.

LSU
Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says it’s interesting to note federal offices are closed and the U.S. Postal office is not delivering mail today.

“The passing of a former president is one that gives people a lot of time to reflect on what things were like in the Bush Administration that was very different from the current situation.”

Bush only served one term after losing his re-election bid to then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton in 1992.

Hogan says Bush's presidency will forever be linked with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“The collapse of the Soviet Union was one that was a huge event, not just for the United States, but for the entire world. For that reason alone a lot of people look at the Bush Presidency as one that was very significant.”

His most famous line occurred at the 1988 Republican National Convention at the Superdome when he said, “Read My Lips, No New Taxes.” But Hogan says two years later, Bush was pressed by Democrats to raise taxes on gas and other items, in exchange Republicans got spending cuts.

“Compromise is today viewed as a dirty word in a way it used to not be. That was really the beginning, in the early 1990’s of both sides not wanting compromise.”